Ultrasonic blood flow imaging display method and ultrasonic imaging system

Abstract

An ultrasonic blood flow imaging display method and an ultrasonic imaging system. The system comprises: a probe ( 1 ); a transmitting circuit ( 2 ), configured to excite the probe ( 1 ) to transmit an ultrasonic beam to a scanning target; a receiving circuit ( 4 ) and a beam forming module ( 5 ), configured to receive an echo of the ultrasonic beam to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal; a data processing module ( 9 ), configured to obtain, according to the ultrasonic echo signal, blood flow velocity vector information and Doppler blood flow velocity information about a target point in the scanning target and at least part of ultrasonic images of the scanning target, and superposing the ultrasonic images and the Doppler blood flow velocity information to form a Doppler color blood flow graph; and a display ( 8 ), configured to contrastively display the blood flow velocity vector information and the Doppler color blood flow graph. By means of a mode of contrastively displaying a common blood flow display image and a vector blood flow, a better viewing angle is provided for a user.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for ultrasound flow imaging display, comprising:
 transmitting focused ultrasound beams to a scanning target selected by a user; 
 receiving echoes of the focused ultrasound beams to obtain focused ultrasound echo signals; 
 obtaining ultrasound images of at least a portion of the scanning target according to the focused ultrasound echo signals; 
 displaying the ultrasound images on a display device; 
 receiving, from the user, location information for a plurality of individual, user-selected target points within the user-selected scanning target, the user-selected target points comprising discrete, user-selected locations of moving particles of a blood flow within the user-selected scanning target; 
 transmitting plane ultrasound beams to the user-selected scanning target; 
 receiving echoes of the plane ultrasound beams to obtain plane ultrasound echo signals; 
 obtaining flow velocity vector information for the user-selected target points in the user-selected scanning target according to the plane ultrasound echo signals; 
 superimposing the ultrasound images and the flow velocity vector information to form vector flow images comprising a flow velocity vector for at least two moving particles selected by at least two user-selected target points, each of the at least two moving particles being graphically represented by a different fixed shape for uniquely distinguishing the at least two moving particles from each other over a time interval within the blood flow, wherein each flow velocity vector comprises an arrow, a length of the arrow representing a magnitude of the flow velocity vector of the respective moving particle and a direction of the arrow representing the direction of the flow velocity vector of the respective moving particle; and 
 displaying the vector flow images on the display device. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining Doppler flow velocity information according to the plane ultrasound echo signals; and 
 generating Doppler color flow images according to the Doppler flow velocity information; and 
 comparatively displaying the Doppler color flow images and the vector flow images. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the flow velocity vector information and the Doppler flow velocity information are derived from the plane ultrasound echo signals obtained in a same sampling period. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the Doppler color flow images and the vector flow images are derived from the plane ultrasound echo signals obtained in two adjacent sampling periods, and wherein obtaining the flow velocity vector information of user-selected target points in the user-selected scanning target and the Doppler flow velocity information according to the plane ultrasound echo signals comprises:
 obtaining the flow velocity vector information according to the focused ultrasound echo signals obtained in one of the two adjacent sampling periods for forming the vector flow images; and 
 obtaining the Doppler flow velocity information according to the plane ultrasound echo signals obtained in the other of the two adjacent sampling periods for forming the Doppler color flow images. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein, the flow velocity vector information of the user-selected target points comprises flow velocity vectors at positions in the ultrasound images to which a particular user-selected target point is successively moved, and wherein the method further comprises:
 marking the flow velocity vectors at the positions to which the particular user-selected target point is successively moved to form flowing marks which flow over time. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 2 , wherein comparatively displaying the vector flow images and the Doppler color flow images comprises performing one of:
 switching between displaying the vector flow images individually on a display and displaying the Doppler color flow images individually on the display; and 
 simultaneously displaying the vector flow images and the Doppler color flow images. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein simultaneously displaying the vector flow images and the Doppler color flow images comprises:
 displaying the vector flow images and the Doppler color flow images in different windows. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 2 , wherein comparatively displaying the flow velocity vector information and the Doppler color flow images comprises at least one of:
 displaying at least a portion of the vector flow images in a first vector flow display region formed in a display region of the Doppler color flow images; and 
 displaying the flow velocity vector information in a second vector flow display region formed in the display region of the Doppler color flow images. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein comparatively displaying the flow velocity vector information and the Doppler color flow images further comprises at least one of:
 when the first vector flow display region is moved, displaying at least a portion of the vector flow images which correspond to the first vector flow display region in the first vector flow display region; and 
 when the second vector flow display region is moved, displaying, in the second vector flow display region, the flow velocity vector information of the user-selected target points contained in the second vector flow display region. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 2 , wherein comparatively displaying the flow velocity vector information and the Doppler color flow images comprises configuring one or more of color, transparency, contrast and shape of the marks which are used to mark the flow velocity vector information in a background image to distinguish the marks from the background image or indicate rate level of the displayed flow velocity vector information. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein a transparency of the background image is adjustable or changes gradually. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 2 , wherein comparatively displaying the flow velocity vector information and the Doppler color flow images further comprises:
 switching current display mode into any display mode obtained by comparatively displaying the flow velocity vector information and the Doppler color flow images according to a mode switching instruction. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying Doppler spectrum images obtained by pulse-wave Doppler imaging according to a mode switching instruction inputted. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:
 displaying Doppler spectrum image at a position of a cursor; and 
 displaying Doppler spectrum images at one or more pre-set positions. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 2 , wherein comparatively displaying the flow velocity vector information and the Doppler color flow images further comprises at least one of:
 displaying the flow velocity vector information of the user-selected target points in a slow manner; and 
 freezing the Doppler color flow images. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 2 , wherein freezing the Doppler color flow images comprises one of:
 displaying the Doppler color flow images repeatedly; and 
 displaying the Doppler color flow images in a slow manner. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , wherein displaying the flow velocity vector information of the user-selected target points in a slow manner comprises:
 obtaining a ratio selection instruction representing a play ratio selected by the user; and 
 adjusting a play speed of the flow velocity vector information of the user-selected target points when the flow velocity vector information and the Doppler color flow images are comparatively displayed according to the play ratio selected by the ratio selection instruction. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user-selected target points are obtained by obtaining a location indicating instruction inputted by a user and obtaining the user-selected target points according to the location indicating instruction. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying one or more of an absolute value of flow velocity, a direction of velocity, and an acceleration at a position of a cursor on a display interface. 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 19 , wherein displaying one or more of the absolute value of flow velocity and the direction of velocity of the flow velocity vector information at the position of the cursor on the display interface comprises at least one of:
 displaying a graph whose area is related to the absolute value of velocity on the display interface which is used for representing the absolute value of velocity of the flow velocity vector information; 
 displaying a direction indication line pointing to a direction of velocity on the display interface which is used for representing the direction of velocity of the flow velocity vector information; 
 displaying a direction indication line pointing to a direction of velocity in the graph which is used for representing the direction of velocity of the flow velocity vector information; 
 displaying text information representing the flow velocity vector information on the display interface; and 
 displaying text information representing the flow velocity vector information in a region near the graph. 
 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 19 , wherein displaying one or more of the absolute value of flow velocity and the direction of velocity of the flow velocity vector information at the position of the cursor on the display interface comprises at least one of:
 displaying a circle whose radius is equal to the absolute value of velocity on the display interface for displaying the absolute value of velocity of the flow velocity vector information at the position of the cursor on the display interface; 
 displaying an indication line which intersects with the circle and points to the direction of velocity for displaying the direction of velocity of the flow velocity vector information at the position of the cursor on the display interface; and 
 displaying text information representing the flow velocity vector information near the circle on the display interface. 
 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 successively connecting multiple positions of a user-selected target point to which said user-selected target point is successively moved in the ultrasound images with connection lines to form a trajectory of said user-selected target point. 
 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 22 , further comprising:
 obtaining indication information with regard to the connection lines inputted by a user to generate a selection instruction; and 
 configuring parameters of the trajectory displayed on a display interface according to the selection instruction. 
 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 transmitting the plane ultrasound beams to the user-selected scanning target along an ultrasound propagation direction; 
 receiving the echoes of the plane ultrasound beams to obtain a group of plane ultrasound echo signals;
 obtaining at least two frames of image data according to the group of plane ultrasound echo signals, selecting a tracking region in a first frame of image data and searching a tracking result region in a second frame of image data which corresponds to the tracking region, and obtaining the flow velocity vector information of the user-selected target points according to locations of the tracking region and the tracking result region and a time interval between the first frame and the second frame of image data; and 
 
 obtaining the Doppler flow velocity information according to the group of plane ultrasound echo signals. 
 
     
     
       25. An ultrasound imaging system, comprising:
 a probe; 
 a display device; 
 a transmitting circuit which excites the probe to alternately transmit focused ultrasound beams and plane ultrasound beams to a scanning target selected by a user; 
 a receiving circuit and a beam-forming unit which receive echoes of the focused ultrasound beams and plane ultrasound beams to respectively obtain focused ultrasound echo signals and plane ultrasound echo signals; and
 a data processing unit which:
 obtains ultrasound images of at least a portion of the scanning target according to the focused ultrasound echo signals; 
 displays the ultrasound images on the display device; 
 receives a user-specified target point distribution density for target points within the user-selected scanning target; 
 randomly selects a specific number of target points representing locations of moving particles of a blood flow within the user-selected scanning target according to the user-specified target point distribution density within the user-selected scanning target; 
 transmits plane ultrasound beams to the user-selected scanning target; 
 obtains flow velocity vector information for the randomly selected target points in the user-selected scanning target according to the plane ultrasound echo signals; 
 obtains Doppler flow velocity information according to the plane ultrasound echo signals; 
 superimposes the ultrasound images and the flow velocity vector information to form vector flow images comprising a flow velocity vector for at least two moving particles selected by at least two of the randomly-selected target points, each of the at least two moving particles being graphically represented by a different fixed shape for uniquely distinguishing the at least two moving particles from each other over a time interval within the blood flow, wherein the flow velocity vector comprises an arrow, a length of the arrow representing a magnitude of the flow velocity vector at the respective moving particle and a direction of the arrow representing the direction of the flow velocity vector at the respective moving particle; 
 superimposes the ultrasound images and the Doppler flow velocity information to form Doppler color flow images; and 
 comparatively displays the vector flow images and the Doppler color flow images on the display device. 
 
 
 
     
     
       26. The ultrasound imaging system of  claim 25 , wherein:
 the transmitting circuit excites the probe to transmit the plane ultrasound beams to the user-selected scanning target along an ultrasound propagation direction; 
 the receiving circuit and the beam-forming unit receive the echoes of the plane ultrasound beams to obtain a group of plane ultrasound echo signals; and 
 the data processing unit further calculates a displacement and direction of movement of the user-selected target points in the user-selected scanning target in a pre-set time interval according to the group of plane ultrasound echo signals to generate the flow velocity vector information of the user-selected target points, and obtains the Doppler flow velocity information according to the group of plane ultrasound echo signals. 
 
     
     
       27. The ultrasound imaging system of  claim 25 , wherein:
 the transmitting circuit excites the probe to transmit the plane ultrasound beams along an ultrasound propagation direction; 
 the receiving circuit and the beam-forming unit receive the echoes of the plane ultrasound beams to obtain a group of plane ultrasound echo signals; and 
 the data processing unit obtains at least two frames of image data according to the group of plane ultrasound echo signals, selects a tracking region in a first frame of image data and searches a tracking result region in a second frame of image data which corresponds to the tracking region, obtains the flow velocity vector information of the randomly-selected target points according to locations of the tracking region and the tracking result region and a time interval between the first frame and the second frame of image data, and obtains the Doppler flow velocity information according to the group of plane ultrasound echo signals. 
 
     
     
       28. The ultrasound imaging system of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 a human-machine interaction device which is used to obtain instructions inputted by a user; 
 wherein the data processing unit further obtains a distribution density instruction selected by the user and randomly chooses an initial set of target points in the randomly-selected scanning target according to the distribution density instruction from which the user selects the user-selected target points. 
 
     
     
       29. The method of  claim 2 , further comprising alternately transmitting the focused ultrasound beams and the plane ultrasound beams, wherein the Doppler flow velocity information is derived from the plane ultrasound beams. 
     
     
       30. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising alternately transmitting the focused ultrasound beams and the focused ultrasound beams, wherein the vector flow images are derived from echoes of the plane beams. 
     
     
       31. The method of  claim 1 , wherein one plane ultrasound beam is transmitted after a plurality of focused ultrasound beams. 
     
     
       32. The method of  claim 1 , wherein a first plane ultrasound beam is transmitted in a first ultrasound propagation direction and wherein a second plane ultrasound beam is transmitted in a second ultrasound propagation direction. 
     
     
       33. The method of  claim 32 , wherein each flow velocity vector includes at least two arrows, a length and direction of a first arrow respectively corresponding to a magnitude and direction of the flow velocity vector according to the first plane ultrasound beam in the first ultrasound propagation direction, and a length and direction of a second arrow respectively corresponding to a magnitude and direction of the flow velocity vector according to the second plane ultrasound beam in the first ultrasound propagation direction. 
     
     
       34. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fixed shape used to represent each moving particle is selected by a user.